Sand-box.



J, 0. MADISON.

SAND BOX.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30. IQII.

Patented Dec. 17, I918.

JOHN o. MADISON, OF'BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SAND-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent. PatentedjDC. 17, 1918 Application filedNovember so, 1917. Serial No. 264,554.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN O. MADISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Sand-Boxes, of

which improvement the following is a specification.

This invention relates to: sand; boxes for use on street cars or other vehicles, and has for its objects to provide improved means for loosening and feeding the sand in the box, and to provide an improved outlet valve of the sliding gatetype which shall operate freely and without sticking or clogging with the sand.

One feature of my invention comprises an improved agitating device attached to the sliding gate and actuated, by the movement thereof toloosen the sand in the-box and assist in feeding the same downward toward the outlet. Another feature comprises an improved construction for loosely mounting the sliding gate in the box whereby ample clearance is afiorded around the edges of the gate to prevent binding or sticking of the same due to the clogging of the sand in the groove.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 .is a side elevation of my improved sand box as mounted on a car and showing the operative connections extending to the car p1atform; Fig. 2 a vertical section-of the lower portion of the sand box, on a larger scale; and Fig. 3 a similar section taken at right angles to Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawing, the sand boX comprises the upper portion or hopper, 5, usually located beneath a car seat and extending down through the floor, and the lower portion or sand trap, 6, attached to the bottom of the hopper and containing the valve for controlling the discharge of sand to the rail. The valve, 7, is of the sliding gate type and may be operated from the car platform by any suitable form of connections, such as pedal, 8, bell-crank lever, 9, and rod, 10, a spring, 11, being employed for returning the gate to closed position. a

In the use of sand boxes trouble has been experienced with the sand becoming packed or frozen and not flowing freely from the hopper, and various forms of stirring or agitating devices have been employed for loosening the sand. provement I employ a bent rod in the form According to my 1mof a bell-crank, pivotally attached at its lower end to the sliding gate, 7 by means of fulcrum bracket or lugs, 12, and having its lower arm, 13, extending up between fixed guides on the sand trap, and the upper arm, let, extendingin a. general transverse direction across the lower portion of the hopper, whereby the movement of the gate, 7, produces a vertical sliding action of the arm, 13, and ZLVGItlCtLl swinging movement of the upper arm, 14:, for loosenlng andagitatlng the sand inthe hopper and positively assisting the downward feeding of the same toward the outlet opening past the gate when the same is open. Any suitable. form of guiding means may be used for confining and directing the sliding movement of the lower arm of the bell-crank, but I preferto make the lower arm, 13, curved to engage the side wall of the sand trap on one side during the upward movement and use a rigid fulcrum bar, 15, for the guide on the oppositeside to engage the bell crank during the closing movement. The bell-crank is preferably made double with the upper ends joined together as shown. ii

The fulcrum bracket, 12, rigidly secured to the sliding gate also forms a stop for limiting the opening movement by engaging a side wall of the sand trap.

When the motorman actuates the pedal device for applying sand the sliding gate is drawn to its open position during which movement the arm, 13, of the bell crank is guided vertically against the wall of the trap and extends up into the hopper while the upper arm, 14, swings downward to the position indicated in dotted lines, thereby agitating and loosening the sand in the lower part of the hopper and feeding the same downward toward the outlet past the open gate. During the return or closing movement ofthe gate the bell crank engages the fulcrum bar, 15, and is returned to its original position, both movements serving to keep the sand in a loose condition.

According to another feature of my improved construction the sliding gate, 7, is loosely mounted in the casing of the box or sand trap being supported on lugs, 16, and just above the gate the walls of the trap are brought inward to form the slopes, 17, the

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sand box having a sliding gate, and a bent rod forming a bell-crank pivotally attached to said gate and extending upward into said box, the upper end of said rod being actuated downward toward the outlet by the opening movement of the sliding ate. I b 2. A sand box having a sliding gate, and a bent rod forming a bell-crank pivotally attached to said gate and extending upward into said box, the lower arm of the bell crank having a sliding engagement with a portion of the box and actuating the upper arm of said bell crank downward toward the outlet when the gate is opened.

3. A sand box having asliding gate, and a bent rod forming a bell-crank plvotally attached to said gate and extending upward into said box, and means for guiding the lower arm of the bell. crank by a sliding engagement to actuate the upper arm toward and from the outlet.

4:. A sand box having a sliding gate, and

Copies of this patent may be obtained for a bent rod forming a bell-crank pivotally attached to said gate and extending upward into said box, the lower arm of the bellcrank having a sliding engagement with the side of the box, upon the opening movement of the gate, and a fulcrum bar for engaging the opposite side of said arm upon the closing movement of the gate.

5. A sand box having a sliding gate, and a bent rod forming a bell-crank pivotally attached to said gate and extending upward into said box, the lower armot the bellcrank being curved, and fixed guides upon opposite sides of said curved arm for confining and directing its movement.

6. A sand box having a loosely mounted sliding gate, the box being provided with inwardly sloping side walls, overhanging the outer edge of said gate and havinga clearance space between the under surface of'the overhanging portion of said walls and the top of the gate, and supporting lugs onthe opposite side walls beneath the guiding edges of said gate.

7. A sand box having a loosely mounted sliding gate, the box being provided with inwardly sloping side walls overhanging the outer edge of said gate, the overhanging portion of the walls having a groove in its underside and over the outer edge of the gate.

JOHN O. MADISON.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

